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A mother who described herself as a "hermit" until a year ago is the central figure in a grassroots nationwide protest against synthetic cannabis set to take place in 22 towns from Whangarei to Invercargill this Saturday.

Julie King, 39, has four teenage children aged 19 to 13 - but unlike other parents who have spoken out on the issue, none of her children have used synthetic cannabis.

Instead, the Tokoroa resident feels she is on a "mission" to help young people who have taken the drugs because they felt as miserable as she did until a year ago.

She was abused in her own teenage years and lived on the streets at times in West Auckland.

Last month, she took the campaign to ban synthetic cannabis nationwide, orchestrating organisers in 22 towns through a Facebook event page called "Aotearoa bans the sale and distribution of legal highs in our country".

"I realised that that was my mission, and also to help the needy," Mrs King said.

She believes her experience has given her an insight into why people take synthetic drugs.

"When you lose hope you don't care. You just destroy yourself. You will do destructive things," she said.

"I believe a lot of these people are looking for something. They turn to these drugs for a little bit of happiness because they have no hope in their lives."